1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for filling a sack with a flowable material, comprising a container having an inlet and an outlet and a sack holder to fasten the sack to be filled to the outlet of the container.
When a flowable material such as putty or jointing compounds or even cement is packed into sacks, the material is to be packed as tightly as possible, i.e. the material should contain as little air as possible. Before packing, most flowable materials contain a moderately large amount of air.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In most prior art methods the flowable material is poured into a sack, whereafter the sack is set vibrating. This is ineffective, especially if the sack is impermeable to air as is often the case.
It is also known to use a generally funnel-shaped precontainer or intermediate container into which the flowable material is first fed and to the outlet of which the sack to be filled is fastened. The flowable material in the container is deaerated by sticking a deaeration probe into the material. A drawback is that it is difficult to make the material flow once the air has been removed. In addition, the probe makes a hole filled with air and when the material settles, the air in the hole draws into the material. A similar probe has also been positioned in a filled sack but the probe then requires space and since the surface of the probe is rather small, a long deaeration time is needed. A deaeration probe of this kind is also apt to be blocked by the flowable material around it.